BlackBerry users, there is now an easier way to access Biblia.com! Now you can use the free Bible study tools or access many resources from your Logos 4 base package quickly and effeciently. We have created a Biblia.com launcher which utilizes our distinguishable Logos icon—giving you one-click access to Bible study on your BlackBerry. Take a moment to add the launcher icon to your home screen now.

If you haven’t downloaded the Logos Bible Software iPhone app, what are you waiting for? It is not only an absolutely free mobile solution for your Bible study needs and an incredible complement to your Logos base package* (giving you access to many of your resources wherever you are), it also gives you free previews of entire Christian books right there on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.

With FreeBookPreview.com you can examine a book as closely as you want for the preview period. It’s sort of like going to your local bookstore and getting an entire week to really peruse a book before you buy it (except you get to take the text with you, wherever you go). Then—when you love it—you can purchase a print edition right there from the app, or sometimes even add it to your Logos Bible Software resources.

Today’s guest post is by Bryan Smith, from the Logos Bible Software Web Development team, and development lead on Biblia.com.

Way back in February of 2008, we announcedRefTagger, our free tool for transforming Bible references on the web. If you run a site that contains Bible references, you can add RefTagger’s JavaScript snippet in just a few minutes. RefTagger will instantly convert references on your site into links to the full text of the passage. Hovering over a reference link will display a small tooltip with up to 280 characters of the passage, so readers don’t even need to leave your site. In the 2 ½ years since its launch, RefTagger has linked 5 billion Bible references, helping millions of people to dive deeper into their studies. See just a few of the sites currently using RefTagger.

We are so excited to announce that from September 19–24 Max Lucado’s brand new book Outlive Your Life will be featured at FreeBookPreview.com! That’s right, during the week of September 19th you will be able to examine Outlive Your Life completely free.

Max Lucado, the pastor of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, TX, is the author of over fifty books with 80 million copies in print. In 2005, Reader’s Digest named Lucado “The Best Preacher in America.” Max’s books, profound in their simplicity to communicate God’s powerful love; have appeared on every major national bestseller list including The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, and Christian Booksellers Association.

In Outlive Your Life, Max uses Acts 12 to consider how a few passionate nobodies can turn the world upside down with an outrageous love and an even more outrageous gospel. Can God use us to have an impact here that outlives us? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Now you can sit back and really check out a book on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch before you purchase it and not be confined to a couple of pagescans. Free Book Preview works with the free Logos Bible Software app allowing you to preview entire Christian books for a limited time. At FreeBookPreview.com you can see a calendar of upcoming previews, read descriptions of previewed books, and see an archive of previously previewed books.

We asked for your input over a year ago into what sorts of mobile devices you were using. From that feedback we developed the free Logos iPhone app. It has been a great success! Just this week alone, the app was used over 100,000 times as a mobile Bible study aid. Once again, we are considering the next frontier.

“What about Logos on my Blackberry? Android? Windows Mobile?”

We have promoted the iPhone app often since it was launched it November and we have received the same responses every time, “What about Logos on my Blackberry? Android? Windows Mobile?”

We hear you! There is no shortage of mobile platforms out there and we are currently researching options—but we could use your help. We would like to hear about the mobile platforms you use or plan on using in the near future. Take a moment and take this brief survey.

When you have filled out the survey, head over to the forum where you can discuss your feedback with other Logos users.

The Lexham English Bible (LEB) is a new translation of the Bible into English, and one of the newest additions to a suite of resources from Logos which connect the original language texts to formal translations. New translations of the Bible into English appear every few years. So what’s so special about the LEB?

Your Second Bible

The LEB complements your primary translation. Its transparent design and literal rendering helps you see the text of God’s Word from another angle. Whether you use the ESV, NIV, KJV, or another popular English translation, the entire translation process helps you identify difficult texts, idiomatic phrases, grammatical issues, and more. The result? A better understanding of the Bible in English—whatever translation you use.

In Logos Bible Software, interlinears reveal the path from the original language texts to formal translation. This type of information, used in concert with your primary translation, helps you dig deeper into the text of the original languages. The entire translation process is visible and transparent—you can see the entire process.

Here’s a brief video overview of some of the new features and functions. (Note: Some of the new features, like devotionals, require you to sign in with a logos.com account to access them. If you don’t have a free Logos.com account, you can get one here.)

One of the great features in the Logos iPhone Bible app is the ability to share Bible verses with your friends, family, and followers on Facebook, Twitter, and by email. Not only does the Logos iPhone Bible app make this easy to do, it does so in a way that is easy for your friends and family to engage with God’s Word. More than just sending a scripture reference, the iPhone app uses http://ref.ly to convert the verses into clickable links. The advantage is that you offer people an easy way to get right to the verse you want to share.

We’ve included a tutorial video below to show how the share functionality works for the iPhone and iPod Touch. If you use our iPhone app, watch the video and start sharing God’s Word! If you haven’t grabbed the free Bible app yet, then go download it today and start sharing.